Chelsea is among the hardest hit communities when it comes to homeowners being foreclosed upon.
This is not a surprise.
When the real estate market was soaring, Chelsea soared with it, though not as fast as in higher income communities.
When the real estate market collapsed three years ago, Chelsea’s collapsed with it – and the collapse was worse here because when things go bad, they tend to go bad more dramatically here than in higher income communities.
Hundreds of homeowners have been foreclosed upon in Chelsea during the past three years.
Foreclosure is a tragedy as virtually no one goes into the game wanting to be foreclosed upon.
Foreclosure is a net loss for the banks who made the loans and for the poor souls who were eager enough to take them. It is a loss for the cities and towns wherever they take place. Foreclosures act like a toxic poison on the struggling economy.
If there is a crime, it is that the mortgage companies knew they were making loans that would never be repaid, that could never be repaid by the working folks they were lending to and that the whole inflated real estate marketplace was going to go up in flames and come down upon us as so much ash and dust.
The attempted auction of a foreclosed sale on Sixth Street Tuesday morning was stopped by an organized protest – and by common sense on the part of the auctioneer.
GMAC Mortgage does not appear to have responded in any meaningful way to the plight of the family, which is seeking a modification of the loan rather than to lose their family home to foreclosure.
In this instance, there is every reason to believe that if GMAC worked with the homeowner, much more would be gained than would be lost by the auction sale.
We believe it is incumbent on GMAC to help out these Sixth Street homeowners who are begging for another chance to simply survive in the home they have owned for eight years.
GMAC should understand their plight and the plight of others in the same position. After all GMAC almost went bankrupt when the economy nearly collapsed 3 years ago. Without some help, GMAC would not exist today.
Why is it these huge companies can feel so far removed from the plight of people who they’ve taken down a primrose path?